Chair or seat



A c. IA. VAN DE.RVEER 2,355,762

CHAIR OR SEAT ori inal Filed June 17, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 1944. c. A. VAN DE RVEIER 2,355,762

CHAIR OR SEAT Original Filed June 1'7, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 15, 1944 CHAIR 0R SEAT Clarence A. Van Derveer, Chicago, Ill., assignor to S. Karpen & Bros., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois ori inalapplicau n June 17, 1938, Serial'No. 214,320. Divided and this application July 26,

1941, Serial No. 404,100 r 2 Claims. (c1. 1 55 120) This invention relates to a chair or seat. It'is particularly useful as a driver's seat in buses and other vehicles. The seat is also adapted for passengers in vehicles, for auditoriums, and for many other uses.

An object of the invention is to provide a seat cushion, either the back or the seat thereof, with simple and effective structure whereby the seat is maintained more comfortable, cool, and whereby the same is kept ventilated. A further object is to provide a chair cushion, including the back or scat thereof, which is equipped with self-ventilating means and which is provided with a top or front structure which maintains the same cool. A further object is to provide a chair cushion which is rotatable and adjustable, with respect to both the back cushion and the seat cushion. A further object is to provide an adjustable drivers seat which is adjustable ve'rtically and in which the cushions of the seat and the back are adjustable, the back and seat being equipped with ventilating and cooling means.

Another object of th invention is to provide a back cushion member in a seat which is independently horizontally adjustable at the upper and lower portions thereof and to provide a seat cushion which is pivotally mounted at the forward end thereof and is easily and readily adjusted vertically at the rear end thereof.

the specification proceeds.

' The invention is illustrated, in a preferred embodiment, by the accompanying drawings, in Which-- Figure 1 is a side view in elevation of a seat embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a detail side elevational view of an embodiment of the invention; Fig, 3 is a bottom plan view of the seat cushion shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4is a detail side elevational view of a seat cushion in anotherv embodiment of the invention; Fig. 5 is a bottom plan viewof the embodiment shown in 4; and Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of an adjustable back cushion supported on the frame- In the invention shown in Fig. 1, A designates.

a base structure; B, a frame rotatably supported upon the base; C, the seat cushion and D, the

back cushion. 1 i

The base A may be of any suitable construc tion. It includes means for vertically raisng the collar i 0 which is carried by the base, the raising and lowering being effected by the foot pedal II. In view of the fact that this is 'a well known construction, adetailed description will not be Other specific objects and advantages will appear as' given., The collar In is provided with a flange l2 which receives the bracket support [3. The frame B is equippedwith depending straps l4 secured to the member l3 and by means of which the frame B is supported upon flange 12. A screw member [5, equipped with a wing nut, is employed for preventing rotation of the member I3. In this structure, the front end of the screw member l5 engages the member Ill and thereby maintains the frame in fixed position.

The frame B may be of any suitable construction. In the illustration given it consists of a tubing'member I6 bent in the shape illustrated in Figs. 1 and 6, the frame being braced by the arm tubes I! on each side of the chair.

The seat cushion C, as seen in the embodiment shown -in Figs. 4 and 5, may be of any suitable construction. The cushion may include a suitable rigid base 29 and a resilient material carried thereby,the entire cushion assembly being covered by fabric H3. The casing or fabric I5 is provided near its top with a plurality of ventilator openings 25, a ventilator screen 2 5 being employed in each opening. The casing is also provided at its top surface with a large number of minute ventilation openings 21. With this type of construction, it is found that the vibrations of the car or machine in which the seat is used and the bouncing movement of the, driver on the cushion causes air to be drawn in through the ventilator openings or vents 25 and to be expelled through the small holes 2! in the top of the cushion. This construction is described in; detail and claimed in my oopending application,

, Serial No. 214,320, and will not be described in detail herein.

' The seat cushion C is adjustably supported on the frame B so that the rear portion of the cushion may 'be raised or lowered at will. As seen in the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the bottom of the member C is provided with a pair of straps 39 which receive the forward end of the top frame l6 and hingedly support the front part of the cushion C upon the frame l6.

The depending strap member I at the rear of frame 16 has a horizontalfframe provided with a pair 'of spaced slots through which extends two rack members 46, the rack members 4!} being pivotally connected by links 4| to the bottom of the member C. ,The' lower end of each of the toothed members 46 is pivotally connected to a frame member 42 which is provided at its forward end with a draw bar 43. Bar 43 extends through the front strap member l4 and is' of the seat, the latch part may be drawn for-j wardly and then when the seat has been elevated to the desired position, the bar 43 may be released and the spring 45 will urge the toothed bars 40 into locking position whereby the seatwill be maintained in such elevated position.

The back cushion D is also adjustably supported upon the frame l6. As seen particularly in Fig. 6, the frame includes a pair of vertical ber 56. For raising and lowering the rear portion of the seat C, I provide very simple and effective means consisting of a central shaft 51 equipped at one end with an operating lever 58 rigidly secured thereto. At intermediate points, the shaft 51 has fixed thereto collar members 59 provided with actuating arms 60." Each of the actuating arms 60 engages one of the operating links 6| which is at its other end pivotally connected to a latch bar 62. Each of the latch bars 62 is pivotally connected to the base of the seat at 63. The latch bar 62 is adapted to engage a portion of the frame 64.

standards which extend upwardly adjacent the opposed sides of the back cushion D. Each of the standards is equipped with a pair of pins 34 and 35 at the upper and lower portions thereof respectively. The side walls of the member D are provided with slotted plates 36 which contain a plurality of vertical slots 31 in the upper portion thereof and a similar group of vertical slots 38 in the lower portion thereof. The vertical slots 31 are spaced from each other, as are the vertical slots 38. The slots 31, however, communicate with the horizontal slot 65, while the slots 38 communicate with the horizontal slot 66. The pins 34 and 35 are received within the vertical slots 3'! and 38 respectively and serve to support the back cushion D.

The plate 36 thus engages the pins 34 and 35 in looking and supporting relation and fixes the horizontal position of the cushion as well as supports the same.

- The other side of the back cushion D is similarly equipped with a plate and slots which receive pins carried by the frame. Since this construction is exactly the same as that described in connection with the plate 36, it will not be described in detail herein.

The seat cushion C may be readily adjusted to the desired position by drawing the plunger knob 44 forwardly to release the ratchet 40 from plate l4 and then elevate the rear portion of the seat to the desired position, after which the knob 44 is released. In this movement, the front portion of the seat swings about the frame member l6 and the spring 45 locks the ratchet bar 46 against plate l4. ii

The back cushion D may readily be adjusted in position by merely lifting the cushion until the pins .34 and 35 are received in the horizontal slots 65 and 66. The upper and lower portions of the cushions may then be moved in a horizontal plane to change the position of the cushion as indicated at 61 in the dotted outline of Fig, 6. By this means, when the cushion is raised it may be included in any desired position so that when released it will bring the pins into engagement with the adjacent vertical slots and fix the position of the cushion.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the cushion C is provided with a laminated board base 50 which is equipped with small spaced perforations5l. Above the base a suitable resilient material may be arranged within the casing or cover 54. The upper surface of the casing or cover 54 may be provided with a plurality of ventilation openings 55. This construction is described in detail and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 214,320, and Will not be described in detail herein.

The seat base 0' is pivotally supported upon the front frame bar [6 by means of a hinge mem- In the operation of the adjusting mechanism, when the lever 58 is swung upwardly, the latch bar 62 is drawn forwardly against the tension of spring 65 which connects frame 64 and arm 60, thus permitting the latch bar to clear the portion of frame 64 engaged by it. The seat may then be raised or lowered to the desired position, the front part of the seat swinging about the pivot bar I6. When handle 58 is released, spring 65 brings the latch bar 62 into engagement with frame 64 and thus locks the seat in the position at which it is held.

This application is a division of my copending application, Serial No. 214,320, filed June 17, 1938, for Chair or seat.

While in the foregoing description, I have set forth a detailed description of the device as now made, it will be understood that no attempt is made to set forth the various details and modifi-v cations which will at once occur to those skilled in the art, it being understood that such variations may be readily made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. An adjustable seat, comprising a frame, a seat cushion having its front portion pivotally mounted upon the frame, a pair of spaced ratchet bars pivotally mounted at the upper ends thereof on the cushion at the rear end of the same and depending therefrom, said bars being in adjacent relation to a portion of the frame whereby the teeth on said bars may be brought into locking engagement with the frame in various positions to adjustably support the rear portion of the cushion on the frame, spring means for urging the ratchet bars into engagement with the frame, the teeth of the ratchet barsextending downwardly and laterally and having the upper surfaces thereof inclined downwardlywhereby the ratchet bars may be moved upwardly but not downwardly with respect to the frame and against the urging of the spring when pressure for vertical movement is exerted on the rear portion of the cushion, a shaft rotatably mounted on the bottom of the cushion, a lever fixedly mounted on said shaft and extending downwardly therefrom, link members pivotally connecting the lower end of said lever with the lower ends of the ratchet bars whereby movement of said lever draws the ratchet bars from engagement with the frame to permit downward movement of the rear end of the cushion, and a manuallyoperable lever for rotating the shaft.

2. An adjustable seat, comprising a frame, a seat cushion having its front portion pivotally mounted upon the frame, a pair of spaced ratchet members pivotally mountedat the upper ends thereof on the rear end of the cushion and depending therefrom, each of said members being received for vertical movement within an aperture in the frame and being in adjacent relation to a portion of the frame whereby the teeth of with respect to the frame and against the urging 10 of the spring when pressure for vertical movement is exerted on the rear portion of the cushion, link members pivotally mounted at the lower ends of the ratchet members, and manually-operable lever means secured to said link members for drawing the ratchet members from engagement with the frame to permit downward movement of the rear end of the cushion.

CLARENCE A. VAN DERVEER. 

